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July 2012

Hydrocarbon EnginEEringReprinted from July 2012

W hile many in the computer aided design (CAD) sector have been promoting and moving towards 3D CAD design and modelling software, some may forget that

the vast majority of people using CAD systems work in 2D. This polemic states that a draftsman, designer or engineer simply will not want to work in 2D when they could create attractive, colourful 3D models to impress the boss or client. Yet for many CAD users, 2D is seen as a perfectly satisfactory solution for what they do in their jobs.

The global normMany CAD users involved in plant design and operations are familiar and comfortable using standard 2D CAD software that

has been an industry norm for some time, especially the basic AutoCAD program from Autodesk. For example, Autodesk has reported an estimated 500 000 AutoCAD users in the plant space and that most are working in 2D CAD drawing piping

systems, process and instrument diagrams, electrical plans, facility layouts, steel and structural plans or some combination of these applications.

For a range of plant design applications, 2D tools are popular where the main goal is legibility of the information and easy updates to a specific drawing. Using 2D CAD can also save time and help ensure consistency in the finished drawings. These draftsmen

working in standard 2D, including basic AutoCAD, may work for facility owner/operators or for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms, or subcontractors of both. When it

Gary Carson, Equamark, USA, demonstrates how designers and engineers can benefit by using basic 2D CAD software

with added intelligence.

Hydrocarbon EnginEEring Reprinted from July 2012

comes to facility operations and maintenance, 2D CAD is also a common tool for producing a drawing or diagram of a specific area or installation.

Origins of 2D CADThere have been 2D CAD software programs around for much longer than some may realise. According to historians, Ivan Sutherland developed the first one as part of his PhD thesis at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the early 1960s. His software, known as Sketchpad, used a light pen to draw on the computer’s monitor. This type of direct approach to a user interface was far ahead of its time and was in reality much more direct than the graphical user interfaces of today, with their point and click mouse methods. However, Sketchpad was never really commercialised.

In 1957, Dr. Patrick J. Hanratty developed a numerical control programming tool named PRONTO, a computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software system in today’s acronym. Consequently, Hanratty is often referred to as the father of CAD/CAM. The earliest commercial users of 2D CAD software were primarily large aerospace and automotive companies. Most of them developed their CAD systems in conjunction with university researchers, and their 2D CAD software programs were primarily intended for automating repetitive drafting chores.

In the early 1980s, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) launched its minicomputers and took the lead in engineering computing and CAD software, providing bundled solutions. Then,

the UNIX workstation revolutionised things with its open architecture, encouraging more CAD software development. IBM shipped its first PC in 1981, and Autodesk demonstrated the first AutoCAD software for PCs later that year. By 1992, Autodesk was the number one 2D CAD software company.

In the late 1990s, Intel rolled out more powerful Pentium processors and several Asian manufacturers competed to produce ever more powerful 3D graphics boards for PCs. This further propelled the popularity of these PC based CAD programs. On the plant side, one of the leaders in the PC based 3D CAD sector in this phase was COADE, developer of the CADWorx software, now Intergraph CADWorx & Analysis Solutions group, a unit of Intergraph.

Legibility and updatesEven with the growth in popularity of 3D CAD since the late 1990s, most designers/engineers involved in hydrocarbon plant design still work in 2D. Using 2D CAD software makes it simple and easy for them to create and update drawings compared to manual methods. They may also use the software to create process and instrument diagrams (P&IDs).

A P&ID contains valuable information that defines and documents the processes of a plant facility, allowing users to produce a viable and efficient design based upon a facility’s process requirements. By documenting the operation of all of the facility’s processes, P&IDs serve as a coordinating document for all disciplines. They may include pump and vessel capacities and services; valve types, sizes and current settings; process lines and related specifications; instruments and their service, type and location; and all other processes associated with the facility. In the USA, government regulations require facility operators and owners to keep P&IDs that are accurate and up to date at all times throughout the life of the plant. Using CAD software makes it easier to update and maintain these diagrams and drawings.

However, to be viable these P&IDs need to be not only legible but also accurate; this is the case with all drawings, and basic CAD software is not foolproof when it comes to ensuring accuracy. That is because an operator can take short cuts or cause errors, such as making global changes that compromise accuracy, even unknowingly. Because basic CAD lacks intelligence, the engineer or designer still has to check the P&IDs to ensure accuracy just as would be the case with manual drawings. Had intelligence been built into the software, it could have addressed the accuracy issue.

Intelligent 2D CAD softwareSome leading CAD software companies are now offering new 2D CAD software programs that go beyond standard CAD and basic AutoCAD. While promotion of new products is to be expected, it is notable that these 2D software programs are being offered by leading names in the industry at a quite affordable price, sometimes even free. These 2D CAD products are also designed specifically for the hydrocarbon processing and engineering sectors for use in plant and facility design, operations and maintenance. Fundamentally, they provide intelligence, addressing a key shortcoming of standard CAD software.

Intelligent 3D CAD software companies are deciding to introduce 2D CAD software with intelligence for a number of reasons. One reason is that much of the software development

Figure 1. CADWorx DraftPro is an AutoCAD® based 2D plant design and layout solution.

Figure 2. A typical plant elevation drawing created by CADWorx using piping specification driven tools and automation.

Reprinted from July 2012Hydrocarbon EnginEEring

work has been done, so they can offer a 2D version of the company’s 3D solution with minimal new software development. Another reason is that it is not their core business or profit centre, so it has little impact on revenues.

Another more important reason is that they can engage current users of standard 2D CAD software. These companies can provide a valuable tool for these designers and engineers currently working in 2D that is created specifically for plant design. This software can address the accuracy issue associated with standard CAD, and provide a way to maintain associated data with the drawings and diagrams, keeping everything synchronised and accurate. A final reason is education, especially on the plant side, as many 2D users can be educated on the benefits of intelligent design before moving to 3D; this education is currently almost absent in the physical 2D design world.

Two companies entering the 2D CAD sector are Dassault Systemes and Intergraph Corporation (a subsidiary of Hexagon AB). Dassault offers a ground up design tool for 2D drawings free of charge. Intergraph offers a 2D solution extracted from a more comprehensive 3D plant design solution, minus some of the bells and whistles (such as 3D modelling). There are other companies offering 2D CAD software with some intelligence, although none identified to date are significant players in the hydrocarbon processing and engineering plant design sector.

Dassault’s offering is called DraftSight. It runs on Microsoft Windows XP and Linux and can be used to create 2D drawings, update and maintain .dwg and .dxf files, exchange files when saved in these formats, and create PDF files. It is free via download as a single license to individuals. They sell a premium version for a fee for those wanting support, updates and/or multiple licenses.

Intergraph is offering its new CADWorx® DraftPro. An intelligent AutoCAD based 2D plant design and layout software, it is based on their CADWorx Plant Professional 3D plant design software and uses the same piping specifications. Being based on AutoCAD means that there should be little or no learning curve required for a person using basic AutoCAD for 2D design. The same commands and routines are used as in the base software, allowing users to be productive from the outset, and drawings

can be viewed in both AutoCAD and CADWorx Plant Professional. It is also offered free via download. With the introduction of this 2D software, Intergraph now offers a solution for all sectors of the CAD plant design market.

Quality and speedBy combining intelligence with tools for automation and a full range of specifications and components specifically for the plant design sector, this type of software can transform the task and the value of creating physical 2D designs. For example, the CADWorx DraftPro software uses specification driven design. The user can set the size and piping specification for a line, and the CAD system checks the piping specification each time the designer selects a component to ensure its accuracy in fit, size, material, etc. This capability allows users to lay out their piping systems with the knowledge that these items are inserted correctly. Users can also fully edit their specifications, create intelligent user shapes, and extract sections and elevations from their 2D plans, giving them the ability to produce accurate material take offs (bills of material) of their designs.

This intelligent, specification driven design combined with automation can improve design quality and overall productivity while shortening completion times. Users report drawings being produced 50% faster than when using plain AutoCAD, and existing drawings can be modified in 75% less time. The software’s intelligence helps to ensure accuracy. The drawings and diagrams, their components and other associated information are maintained and in synch even after modifications are made.

Intergraph’s 2D software products include a complete range of plant design tools. They offer metric and imperial options, and include ready to go piping specifications, equipment symbols and over 60 000 specification driven components. Tools include a specification editor for customising to match the project’s requirements, and tools for line numbering, line and component annotation, and selection and isolation. The user can edit the language files and the language can also be localised for the specific region.

A path to 3DIn addition to users benefitting, a software company offering these 2D CAD software products can benefit in the future if these users decide to move from 2D to 3D plant design at some point. Users of Dassault’s 2D software would be pointed toward the company’s 3D solution; Intergraph would point users towards its CADWorx Plant Professional, the latest edition of which is called CADWorx 2013. The CAD software collaborates with CAESAR II for pipe stress analysis and PV Elite for vessel and exchanger design and analysis, with a view to boosting productivity.

ConclusionDesigners and engineers currently working in standard 2D CAD software, such as basic AutoCAD, may want to explore the new 2D software that is now available. Both companies and users can benefit from the advanced levels of automation provided by software created specifically for the requirements of plant design, potentially offering significant time savings. Combining this automation with intelligence previously unavailable in 2D CAD, drawings can become much more valuable resources for designing, managing and operating facilities.

Figure 3. Piping 2D plans are an important deliverable of the plant creation and maintenance process. Whether generated automatically, from a 3D model or manually, they still need to be accurate and legible.